New Release Review: Between Ghosts by Garrett Leigh

In 2003, journalist Connor Regan marched through London to add his voice to a million others, decrying the imminent invasion of Iraq. Eight months later, his brother, James, was killed in action in Mosul.

Three years on, Connor finds himself bound for Iraq to embed with an elite SAS team. He sets his boots on the ground looking for closure and solace—anything to ease the pain of his brother’s death. Instead he finds Sergeant Nathan Thompson.

Nat Thompson is a veteran commander, hardened by years of combat and haunted by the loss of his best friend. Being lumbered with a civilian is a hassle Nat doesn’t need, and he vows to do nothing more than keep the hapless hack from harm’s way.

But Connor proves far from hapless, and too compelling to ignore for long. He walks straight through the steel wall Nat’s built around his heart, and when their mission puts him in mortal danger, Nat must lay old ghosts to rest and fight to the death for the only man he’s ever truly loved.

Angie’s Review – 4 Stars – B

I really went back and forth on how to rate this book, as I didn’t feel the romance here was as solid as it was in my favorite Garrett Leigh book, Misfits. However, when I went to make sure I had the genre posted correctly and saw that this wasn’t even marketed as romance, it made it a whole lot easier. This book was a strong four stars for me. Though to be honest, I’m not sure Mystery & Thriller quite fits, either. I think Suspense or (Wo)Men’s Fiction would be more accurate. The writing in Between Ghosts was beautiful. While Nat and Connor were both battling demons, it was clear Nat was the more broken of the two. Connor was battling his demons where it seemed Nat was alternately trying to bury or outrun them. The attraction between Nat and Connor escalated very quickly making this story too insta-lovey for my taste. And while I can maybe see this happening for Connor, Nat was too hardened for me to really be sold on this. If it had been just that – sex based on attraction – I could have bought it. It was the lightning quick feelings that felt off for me.

I like the idea of the journalist going in, almost giving Nate two enemies to fight against – the ones on the battlefield and the one that could potentially put too much information in the enemy’s hands if he releases too much. The fact that Connor’s deceased brother was military and Connor hardly knew anything about his job was something that plagued him, and the torment only grew while Connor was in the thick of it. He had a lot of respect for the men in the unit, but he made some mistakes along the way when he didn’t play by their rules. Connor’s naivete regarding military ways was evident in some of his actions, and things that were simple logic to him were big risks to Nat and his men. The portrayal of military life was very raw here, and the camaraderie between the men was one of my favorite parts of this book. Though Nat’s decisions really frustrated me at times, it was clear that most of the time when he was leading his men, he was thinking much more logically than I was. The end of this book got maybe a bit too dramatic for my tastes, but again, the writing was well done here, and the story was entertaining right up until the very end. Between Ghosts was another solid read from Garrett Leigh!

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Thank you to RIPTIDE PUBLISHING and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.